Islington Roadworks This Week: Highbury Grove, Balls Pond

Islington is two miles across at its widest point and almost entirely built up, so there are no spare routes. When one of the borough’s half-dozen main roads closes, the traffic goes onto residential streets that were deliberately made harder to drive through, and everyone notices.

This page lists the Islington roadworks that are live right now at the top, with the permanent rules underneath, because the permanent rules are what most people are actually searching for.

What is dug up right now

Checked against Transport for London’s live road disruption feed on 5 October 2026. TfL manages the red routes and the borough’s biggest roads; Islington Council manages the rest, and its own roadworks page simply points at the same TfL map.

Highbury Grove is still the closure to plan around. The A1201 is shut in both directions between Aberdeen Lane and Baalbec Road while a water main is replaced. It closed on 20 July. TfL still has it booked to 2 November, so there are about five weeks to go. TfL’s advice is to use an alternative route and to expect delays on the diversion. Highbury Grove is the direct link between Highbury Corner and the Highbury Park and Blackstock Road end of the borough. The realistic alternatives are Blackstock Road to the east or Holloway Road to the west, and both are busier.

Balls Pond Road has been extended by eight days. Cadent put temporary signals in on the A104 at the Southgate Road junction on 29 September for emergency gas works. They were booked to Sunday 4 October; TfL now has them running to Monday 12 October. That junction sits on the Islington and Hackney border at the top of the Essex Road corridor, so it adds to any Essex Road delays rather than offering a way round them.

Essex Road should clear on Tuesday. The Thames Water temporary signals at the Cross Street junction went in on 11 September. They were booked to finish on 1 October and overran; TfL now has them ending on Tuesday 6 October. Essex Road is the standard alternative to Upper Street, so a signalled junction on it slows both.

Finsbury Pavement, today only. The A501 is closed southbound at Finsbury Square for Thames Water works until 9pm on Monday 5 October. It is the stretch between Old Street roundabout and Moorgate, so expect southbound City Road traffic to back up until then.

Pentonville Road is unchanged. The contraflow with temporary signals at the Baron Street junction is still booked to 18 December. The A501 is the Inner Ring Road and there is no sensible way round it, so allow extra time between Angel and King’s Cross rather than looking for a diversion.

Camden Road is clear. The BT lane closure eastbound at the Parkhurst Road junction is no longer on TfL’s feed.

Old Street has not moved. The westbound lane restriction at the junction with the A501 City Road went in on 28 August for TfL works and is still booked all the way to 31 December 2026. That is the Old Street roundabout corner, on the busiest approach to the City from the Islington side.

Just outside the borough but worth knowing: TfL still has lane restrictions on Seven Sisters Road between Green Lanes and Amhurst Park until 24 October 2026, with Woodberry Grove closed both ways at the junction. That is the Hackney and Haringey stretch, about a mile east of Finsbury Park station, and it backs up traffic through Finsbury Park.

For anything smaller than these, TfL’s live traffic status updates through the day.

Trains and Tube over the next fortnight

From TfL’s published line status for 5 to 19 October 2026.

No planned closures on the Islington stretches of the Piccadilly, Northern or Victoria lines. Angel, Old Street, Archway, Finsbury Park, Highbury & Islington, Caledonian Road and Holloway Road all run as normal. The closures TfL does list are elsewhere: the Piccadilly line between Hammersmith and Heathrow or Uxbridge from 01:00 on Saturday 17 October and all day Sunday 18 October.

Sunday 18 October is the day to plan around on the Overground. TfL lists:

• Mildmay line, until 11:15: no service between Gospel Oak and Stratford. That shuts Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, Highbury & Islington and Canonbury on that line. Replacement bus S runs via Holloway Road, Highbury & Islington and Canonbury (St Pauls Road).
• Mildmay line, after 22:15: no service between Camden Road and Stratford, with bus S again. For Caledonian Road & Barnsbury, TfL says use the 274 to Camden Road or walk to Highbury & Islington.
• Windrush line, from 22:15: no service between Dalston Junction and Highbury & Islington, so Canonbury has no Windrush trains either. Bus S covers the gap.

Sunday 11 October, Suffragette line. No service between Gospel Oak and Barking Riverside until 09:45 and again after 23:00. That shuts Upper Holloway and Crouch Hill for those hours, and TfL says no replacement buses will run.

Late Mildmay line trains. From Monday 5 to Thursday 8 October, the 22:29 from Stratford to Richmond terminates at Camden Road. On Friday 16 October the 21:59 does the same. Those trains still call at Canonbury, Highbury & Islington and Caledonian Road & Barnsbury on the way. On Monday 12 and Tuesday 13 October the first train from Richmond starts at Camden Road at 06:36.

Circle line, 10 and 11 October. The only closure is on the southern side, between Edgware Road and Aldgate via Victoria, so Barbican is not affected.

Step-free access. TfL says the lifts at Caledonian Road & Barnsbury are out of order between all platforms and the entrance until further notice, so the station has no step-free access. The Canonbury platform notice from last week is no longer on TfL’s list (TfL).

TfL’s status service does not always show planned works far ahead, so check again before a weekend trip.

Great Northern’s own planned engineering work page still renders nothing to a plain fetch, so weekend work on the Moorgate line beyond what TfL publishes could not be confirmed today. Check National Rail before travelling at a weekend.

The roads that carry the borough

Only a handful of roads cross Islington, and knowing which is which saves a lot of guesswork when one of them shuts.

• The A1 is the spine, changing name as it goes: Archway Road, Holloway Road, Upper Street, then Goswell Road down to the City. Whatever closes, this is where the traffic ends up.
• The A501 along Pentonville Road and City Road is the Inner Ring Road and the borough’s southern edge. It is the busiest thing in Islington and the least avoidable.
• The A503, Camden Road becoming Seven Sisters Road, is the only east-west route across the north of the borough.
• The A5203 Caledonian Road and the A1201 Highbury Grove run parallel to the A1 on either side, and both are the standard diversion when it blocks.

The local rules that catch people out

Islington has more restrictions per square mile than almost anywhere else in Britain, and three of them are not obvious from the car.

Ultra low emission streets. This is an Islington and Hackney scheme, and it is not the same thing as the London-wide ULEZ. On Tabernacle Street, Cowper Street, Singer Street, Paul Street, Willow Street, Ravey Street and Blackall Street in the Bunhill area, plus Charlotte Road and Rivington Street on the Hackney side, the streets are closed to anything emitting more than 75g/km of CO2 between 07:00 and 10:00 and between 16:00 and 19:00, Monday to Friday. That excludes most petrol and diesel cars and older hybrids. Outside those hours the streets are open to everyone. Residents with an on-street parking permit are exempt automatically; if you park off-street or ride a motorbike you have to apply for an exemption (Islington Council).

Low traffic neighbourhoods. The council installed its people-friendly streets neighbourhoods between 2020 and 2022, first as 18-month trials, then permanently after consultation. Bollards and camera-enforced filters mean you can still reach any address and take deliveries, but you usually cannot cut from one main road to the next through the back streets. Satnav routes that were valid five years ago are not now, which is the single most common reason for a penalty notice here (Islington Council).

School Streets. There are 36 School Streets covering 37 primary schools across the borough, each closed to through traffic at the start and end of the school day (Islington Council).

Congestion Charge and ULEZ

The whole borough is inside the ULEZ, along with every other London borough. If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standard it is £12.50 a day, and the zone runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day (TfL).

The Congestion Charge zone reaches into the south of the borough, around Clerkenwell and Bunhill, while the rest of Islington sits outside it. The charge is £18 a day, or £21 if you pay by midnight on the third day after travel, and it applies 07:00 to 18:00 Monday to Friday and 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends and on bank holidays, with no charge between Christmas Day and the New Year bank holiday. Because the boundary runs through streets rather than around postcodes, check the address you are driving to on TfL’s postcode checker rather than assuming (TfL).

Parking, and why there is no park and ride

Islington has no park and ride and effectively no station car parks. Every station in the borough is a Tube, Overground or inner-suburban stop with street access only, so the drive-and-park commute that works in the outer boroughs does not exist here.

On-street parking is controlled almost everywhere, in Controlled Parking Zones with their own hours zone by zone, signed on each street. Residents buy a permit for their own zone; everyone else pays. There are about 6,500 short-stay bays in the borough and you can only pay for them by phone, through RingGo or Pay by Phone, or at a PayPoint shop. Blue Badge holders can use a short-stay bay for an unlimited time (Islington Council).

On Arsenal home match days, extra controls apply in the zones around the Emirates Stadium, with their own hours. Residents and business permit holders and Blue Badge holders park as normal; everyone else should not try (Islington Council).

Frequently asked questions

Is Highbury Grove closed?

Yes. The A1201 Highbury Grove is closed in both directions between Aberdeen Lane and Baalbec Road until 2 November 2026 for a water main replacement. Use Blackstock Road or Holloway Road instead and expect delays on the diversion.

Is the Tube running normally in Islington this week?

Yes. TfL has no planned closures on the Islington stretches of the Piccadilly, Northern or Victoria lines between 5 and 19 October. The Overground is the exception: the Suffragette line through Upper Holloway and Crouch Hill shuts until 09:45 and after 23:00 on Sunday 11 October, and the Mildmay line through Highbury & Islington is closed until 11:15 on Sunday 18 October.

How long will Balls Pond Road roadworks last?

Cadent’s emergency gas works at the Southgate Road junction began on 29 September. TfL now has the temporary signals booked to Monday 12 October 2026, eight days later than first listed.

Which Old Street lane is closed?

The westbound lane restriction on the A5201 Old Street at the junction with the A501 City Road, in place since 28 August for TfL works and booked to 31 December 2026.

Why are there temporary signals on Essex Road?

Thames Water is working at the Cross Street junction on the A104 Essex Road. The temporary signals went in on 11 September 2026. They were due off on 1 October, and TfL now has them ending on Tuesday 6 October 2026.

Is Islington in the Congestion Charge zone?

Only partly. The zone reaches into the Clerkenwell and Bunhill end of the borough; most of Islington is outside it. The whole borough is inside the ULEZ. Check a specific address on TfL’s postcode checker.

How much is the Congestion Charge in 2026?

£18 a day if you pay on the day or in advance, or £21 if you pay by midnight on the third day after travel. It runs 07:00 to 18:00 on weekdays and 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends and bank holidays.

Can I drive through Islington’s low traffic neighbourhoods?

You can always reach an address and receive deliveries, but you generally cannot drive straight through from one main road to another. The filters are enforced by camera, so an old satnav route will produce a penalty charge notice rather than a barrier.

Where can I park in Islington?

In a short-stay bay, paid for by phone. There are about 6,500 of them across the borough and no cash meters. Everything else on street is permit-controlled during that zone’s operating hours.

Is there a park and ride for Islington?

No. There is no park and ride and no station parking. The practical alternative is to park at an outer-London station on your own line and come in by train.

Related

• Islington Tube and train times: 15 stations, the zones and the 2026 fares.
• Islington house prices: what the borough’s neighbourhoods cost.
• Things to do in Islington: most of it is easier to reach without a car.

Sources

• TfL road disruption feed, checked 5 October 2026, for the current works, their extents, their start dates and their end dates.
• TfL Tube and rail status, checked 5 October 2026 for the window 5 to 19 October, for the Windrush, Suffragette, Mildmay, Piccadilly and Circle line works.
• TfL station disruptions, checked 5 October 2026, for the lift closure at Caledonian Road & Barnsbury.
• TfL live traffic status and Islington Council roadworks and closures for day-to-day updates.
• Islington Council: ultra low emission streets for the street list, hours and exemptions.
• Islington Council: low traffic neighbourhoods and School Streets for the schemes and the count of 36 School Streets.
• Islington Council: short stay parking, Controlled Parking Zones and Emirates Stadium restrictions.
• TfL Congestion Charge and ULEZ for the charges and hours.

Last checked 5 October 2026. Roadworks move and end dates slip. Check the live TfL feed before you set off.